The Feast: A Dramatic Retelling of Ireland's Epic Tale

Ulster #2

by Randy Lee Eickhoff

The Feast is a modern translation of Fled Bricrend , one of Ireland's most thrilling and humorous legends. Three men, each striving to be named Champion of Conchobor's realm, enter into a battle of wits and words in an effort to enjoy the privileges accorded to the national champion. As the heroic competition unfolds, visits to and from the otherworld threaten to unmask the true nature of the gathering. and at the center remains Bricriu, god of mischief and creator of the most delicious and devilish banquet the world has ever seen.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Mythology, Historical Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[J.S. Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per many reviewers who have commented here, the ancient language of the original
[ Gaelic: Togail Bruidne da Derga ] lost some verve in this translation. Use of modern vernacular is one reason.

Other authors, mostly academics, have written at length about bits of this tale recycled by James Joyce in titles Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.

I have read and re-read this translation for comparison with other translations of the old texts. A different approach than a pure linguistic translation is to look for the context of this story. I like to mix archaeology with the old myths and am not alone in that effort. The social upheaval hinted at in Eickhoff's The Feast is more striking in the translation found on the UC-Cork website, ucc-celt.ie .

Another aspect worth noting in this tale is the bull-feast at Tara used to select the next warrior-lord, which points to very early practices. For more on that, see Tara from the past to the future (Wordwell, 2013) and archaeologist John Waddell's on union with the land-goddess/white horse though that is omitted from Eickhoff for the most part;

and the article : Newman, Conor. Procession and Symbolism at Tara: Analysis of Tech Midchuarta (The Banqueting Hall) In The Context of The Sacral Campus. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 26(4): 415-38, 2007.

[Rebecca Thomason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it's just me, but when I am reading an epic, I expect elevated language and the basic elements of an epic. I did not even finish this. There were more sentences about giggly wenches with jiggly, "cone-shaped" bosoms and men's "bods" than any interesting, plot-forwarding information. If this is truly a direct interpretation of the Celtic epic, then I am not interested.

[TC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps the saddest thing in literature is when a great work is re-written as pap. Modern colloquialisms and trite interaction between characters may produce a more accessible version, accessible to folks who cannot appreciate the story without the lowbrow treatment.

[Pye Josephus Joestar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Feast is such a good book, especially compared to the first book in the series "The Raid". The writing has greatly improved, including very descriptive scenes and characters. The book starts out comical and captures your interest immediately with excellent characters and writing. Bricriu, the main antagonist of the book reminds me of a classic disney villian with his sharp tongue and his devious plans. unfortunately the character disappears after the first 4 chapters but that doesn't mean there isn't more fun to be had within the rest of the book without him. There are various challenges throughout the book with constantly new interesting characters being introduced. There really isn't anything bad I can say about this book other than Chuhulains friends are dicks, but thats just good writing.

[Chad McEvoy]

Good translation. I wish I could find Good Irish mythology and hero tales.....

[Kimberlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

overly modern interpretation made is unbearable